What Are Soft Skills?

Soft skills are some of the most important skills we can have. More and more of the top companies are recognizing that by exploring the power of soft skills is where / how a company really can thrive and demonstrate their corporate values. And even the name is taking on greater importance and relevance as more and more soft skills are righty being called human skills.

I am not surprised at all that when we look at soft skills, many of the top ones are also found when looking at many companies’ corporate values. For example:

1. Communication Skills
2. Empathy and Compassion
3. Teamwork
4. Creative thinking
5. Adaptability
6. Dependability
7. Listening Skills
8. Teamwork
9. Work ethic
10. Leadership (made up of motivation, time management and many others)

The reason hard skills have been so popular is because they are easy to measure and there is little room for ‘interpretation’… which means it is easy to predict outcome and streamline performance. On the other hand, soft skills are largely intangible and difficult to quantify… but this doesn’t make them any less important. 

While trust in a person’s skill is one thing, soft skills help build trust in a person’s character and when these skills are shared among the team, soft skills build trust in a supportive office culture. And now, in today’s ultra-competitive world with four generations in the workplace (and sometimes five), when we look at some of the best, most successful leaders, nearly all have many qualities including… an awareness of and skill in exercising their soft skills.

Conclusion:

Without a doubt, in today’s workspaces, because soft skills demonstrate how we communicate with colleagues and customers, how we manage our time, how we solve difficult solve problems, and overall how we manage our work, soft skills are important for all work at all levels. 

Question:

Now that we’ve discussed many of the most important of them, which of them are you most skilled at using… and perhaps more importantly, let me ask you this, “What soft skills do you need to exercise a bit more than you currently do?” Remember, your most important job is to stand out by doing your job well and gaining a reputation as being trustworthy, dependable and easy to work with. 

Thank you for reading. I hope you have enjoyed.